


The Ashes Start to Rise

by Jediknight_7567



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-03
Updated: 2015-01-11
Packaged: 2018-03-05 02:20:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3101717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jediknight_7567/pseuds/Jediknight_7567
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Order 66 is executed, Rex finds himself terrified for Ahsoka's safety. After a confusing holotransmission, he discovers she is on Naboo, protected by Senator Amidala. New of the senator's death reaches Ahsoka just ask quickly as Rex, and suddenly the two must find another way to keep themselves alive in a galaxy that very much wants them dead.</p><p>Most Kyrimorut characters won't come in until quite a bit later, just so you know.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

            _Execute Order 66._

            The words rang in Rex’s ears and bounced off the walls of his mind, crushing every thought of loyalty to the Republic and making his head pound. He moved slowly through the crowd in the lower levels, stumbling on unsure feet. Nearly everyone around him thought him to be just another drunkard. Nothing new in the slums of Coruscant. They just moved around him, some even letting him steady himself on their shoulders.

            _Execute Order 66._

            The Chancellor really did it. The order was given. There was little he could do now besides stumble to the lift and try to calm his nerves, steady his heart and shaking frame, gain control of his sight, and eliminate the ringing in his ears.

            _Execute Order 66._

Those words wouldn’t leave Rex. Even as he huddled in the corner of the lift and whispered to himself, they hung there. They pressed down on his lungs, driving the breath from his body. But still as he sat there hugging his knees to his chest, something else drove them out.

            A small Togruta with white birthmarks accenting her facial features, stripes on her lekku darkening in a blush. Lightsabers on her hips, blaster on her thigh, and Jedi cloak fastened at her throat.

            _Ahsoka._


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since Appo was the one we saw leading the attack on the Temple, I thought maybe Rex gave him the go-ahead to kind of become Anakin's new right-hand-man for this.

            “Appo!” Rex’s voice echoed through the halls of the barracks. Despite the reprieve he had gained when Ahsoka came into his thoughts, he was stumbling again and his vision was failing. “Appo! Dammit man, where are you when I actually need you?!”

            “Captain?” Rex whipped his head around to look in the direction of the voice, but he couldn’t make out any distinguishing features about the clone. Frustrated, Rex rubbed his eyes in an attempt to reduce the blurriness, though it did little other than make him see stars.

            “Trooper?”

            “It’s Kix, sir,” the trooper replied. “You heard the Order?”

            “Yeah, kid,” Rex rejoined after a time. “Yeah, I heard.”

            “We’re to lead the assault on the Temple after we get as many Jedi as we can back to Coruscant,” Kix said. “We’re going to lose a lot of men, Captain… As soon as General Skywalker returns, the entire battalion is out.”

            “Where’s Appo?”

            “Probably in the armory preparing for the battle.”

            “Thank you, Kix, I just need to speak to him about how we’re going to minimize losses in this assault.” In his blurred vision, Rex could see Kix snap to attention.

            “Of course, sir.”

            It took Rex less than five standard minutes to find Appo cleaning his DC-15 in the armory. The vision of Ahsoka took him over again and everything cleared, his mind his own yet again.

            Appo merely glanced up as Rex entered. He ran the cloth over his deece once more, then tossed it in a corner, rising to inspect his handiwork.

            “Rex, good to see you,” Appo said without looking up.

            “And you, Commander.”

            “What brings you back to the barracks?” Appo fixed his amber eyes on Rex, who was still in his gray fatigues. “You were on leave. You could still be getting drunk.”

            “I got the order.”

            “Right,” Appo sighed. “Here to prepare for the battle, eh?”

            “Here to ask you to lead the assault.”

            “I figured since I outrank you I would be doing so anyway, Rex.” Rex looked at Appo tiredly. Appo was so sarcastic sometimes it was hard to tell if he was telling the truth or not. Whether he was being facetious was beside the point, however. Rex was having none of it.

            “General Skywalker trusts me more than he does you. Your promotion was not done by him. He would choose me over you to lead this assault on the Jedi. He knows what I can do as a leader. He only knows what you can do as a soldier.”

            “Well, Captain, I will gladly take on the leadership role here.” Appo shot his brother a grin, eyes twinkling in a way that made Rex want to hurl. “Why do you want me to take this if you are obviously the better choice?”

            “I will not commit treason.”

            With a scoff, Appo said, “Rex, it is the Jedi who have committed the crime here. You are helping the Republic by attacking the Jedi Temple and eliminating as many as you can.”

            “That is not how I feel, Appo. I will not kill Jedi. I will go into battle, but I will not fire a shot. No bolt will go through my pistols. Their reports will not contribute to the clamor of battle. When I march into that Temple, I will allow myself to die at their hand. But I will not allow one to die at mine.” Rex’s jaw ached from clenching the muscles and his breath came short by the time he was done with his rant. Appo stared down his nose at his brother.

            Three words came from his lips.

            “So be it.”

            Appo left the armory slowly, barely taking his gaze off Rex. As soon as the door slid shut yet again, the clone captain collapsed to his knees, every muscle shaking. Lying to Appo was one of the hardest things he’d been forced to do in the short time he’d been in this universe. He admired the man, and even if it had been necessary, lying to him hurt.

            It was a form of the truth. If Rex had been making the decision to walk into that bloodbath, he would have allowed himself to die. Hell of a way to go out.

            But that wasn’t what was going to happen. With the few belongings he had, Rex was going to get his ass offworld before the order could be carried out. He would have no part in it. Where he was going to go was undecided, but he just needed off Coruscant. Even heading to one of the moons would be better than down on the planet.

            Ahsoka. He needed to find Ahsoka.


	3. Chapter 2

            Rex struggled to recognize which room was the one he shared with two other members of the 501st and Cody on occasion. By the time he found it, troopers were leaving the barracks in full armor, DC-15 rifles slung across their backs. The assault team was gathering. Outside the small window in his room, Rex could see the sun dipping below the skyline.

            Night would fall upon the Jedi, along with the brutal strike of the Republic’s iron fist.

            Fear gripped Rex. He raced to his bunk, pulling the mattress off and searching for the scrap of flimsi containing Ahsoka’s comm frequency. As soon as it was stowed safely in his pocket, he snatched up the backpack containing his plastoid armor and slung it over his shoulder.         Using his military ID would get him offworld easy enough, but it would require more lying, something Rex rarely did. If it got him offworld, however, he didn’t really care. He needed to get to Ahsoka before the Republic did. Despite her having left the Order, she was still a threat as far as the Republic cared. She would be in danger.

            Finding Ahsoka would be easier if he could travel as a refugee.

            _That’s it!_ Rex thought. _I’ll travel as a refugee, hide my face. It’ll make it that much easier to get to Ahsoka. Of course that means…_

            Finding a place on Coruscant to contact her would probably be the hardest part of the plan he’d cobbled together. The lower levels would do, after all, the refugee shuttles took off from a few levels down rather than the surface.

            The journey to the lift was a blur, as was the ride down. The only clear memory Rex had was falling into an alley and punching the code on the flimsi into his communicator. It only took about five seconds for Ahsoka’s strong voice to come blasting through the tiny speaker.

            “Who the hell is this? How did you get this frequency?” Leaving the Jedi Order seemed to have made her more paranoid than ever. Still, hearing her voice, Rex felt a sense of relief wash over him. Everything was clear once more. His heart returned to its normal pace, his muscles ceased quivering, the ringing in his ears stopped suddenly. Knowing she was alive was all he needed. “WHO IS THIS?”

            “It’s Rex, Ahsoka,” he blurted. “Captain Rex.”

            Silence.

            Ahsoka said nothing for the longest time that Rex thought she’d cut the transmission. He could not keep track of the minutes that passed.

            “Rex?” Ahsoka finally asked, voice quivering on the edge of breaking. “Is it really you?’

            “Yes, Commander.”

            “Don’t call me that anymore,” Ahsoka said a bit too quickly. “I’m not your commander anymore.”

            “Ahsoka then,” Rex said with a relieved smile he knew she couldn’t see. “Ahsoka, as nice as it is to hear your voice and know you’re okay, I need to know where you are.”

            “Rex, you know I can’t do that. Somebody could be listening to everything we’re saying.”

            “Just a hint, Ahsoka. Please, I need to find you before…” Rex paused, trying to swallow the lump forming in his throat, “…before someone else does. Please.”

            “Fine, give me a minute.” It was more than that when Ahsoka began speaking again. “A former queen and friend this planet did bestow, a sea of green where warm winds blow.”

            “That helps a lot, Ahsoka,” Rex said, rolling his eyes.

            “Just get here quickly. I need a familiar face around this place.”

            “Will do, littl’un.”

            The transmission cut abruptly, leaving Rex with dead air. Leaning his head back against the wall, he tried to decipher the riddle the former Jedi had left him with.

            _A former queen and friend…_ How many former queens did Ahsoka know? Of course he only knew of one that she considered a friend, Senator Amidala. Not that Rex could remember her homeworld off the top of his head, no matter how many times he had been assigned to her guard.

            _A sea of green where warm winds blow_ … Well, it had to be a primarily grassland planet then, one with a typically warm climate. Naboo was close by, it could be what Ahsoka was referencing. After a moment, Rex remembered General Skywalker mentioning Naboo as the senator’s home.

            “It’s Naboo!” Rex shouted aloud. A few people walking past raised an eyebrow at him, but no one really paid him any attention.

            He had to go to Naboo. More than likely Ahsoka would be in Theed, the planet’s capital. Easy to get out if need be. Or blend in as he needed to do. His cloak would achieve that easily enough. With the hood up, no one would recognize him as anything similar to a clone.

            A few levels up, Rex scanned shuttles leaving for Naboo. Judging by the schedule, he could be leaving in the next half hour. He could be on his way to Ahsoka. He was content to know he would find her and see her again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to eowynqueenofrohan (that's her tumblr) for your assistance with the riddle in this chapter. Well, in the first version of this until I realized it took 26 days to get to Tatooine from Coruscant and changed it to Naboo.


	4. Chapter 3

            Ahsoka paced the length of the master bedroom in the massive house Padmè had set her up in, sleep evading her after Rex’s transmission. She couldn’t believe he’d kept that damned piece of flimsi. She couldn’t believe she’d kept the same comm frequency. It was a stupid decision, but she had been hoping Rex would contact her. And he had. Hearing his voice had been like a weight off her shoulders.

            Outside, Theed was more or less dead for the night. Still, it was the only place that felt even slightly like home. Sure, it was no Coruscant. After around two in the morning everything shut down and the city slept until dawn, unlike Coruscant where nothing slept and the city always moved.

            _When the hell will Rex get here?_ Ahsoka wondered. She could barely wait to see him again, hear his voice without the interference of communicators, and know he was going to help her.

            The last time she’d seen him was nearly six standard months ago, when he met her at the bottom of the stairs leading to the Jedi Temple. That was the first time he’d dared embrace her. The first time they met as friends, not Captain and Commander. The first and last time they touched. To see him again would be but a continuance of that moment.

            Her only hope was that he arrived soon.

           

* * *

 

            The following morning, Talmon met her on her ground floor sitting room, having answered her request for him to come in. She sent said request late at night or early in the morning depending on how one looked at it, and she wasn’t entirely sure he was going to answer her. But there he was, sitting in her apartment in all his Zabrak glory.

            As far as Ahsoka was concerned, he was way too narcissistic, but they worked well together. She knew he would provide the information she needed, he knew he’d get paid well and on time. They had an agreement.

            And today, he was going to help her yet again.

            “Soka my darling, it’s so good to see you!” Talmon exclaimed, standing up and moving to embrace her.

            “Hi, Talmon,” Ahsoka replied. “Good to see you, too.”

            “Now, sit, honey, sit. What is it you need from this information hooker?” Ahsoka did as he said, joining him on the couch.

            “You really need to stop calling yourself that,” Ahsoka said pointedly. He just waved the comment off and looked at her, waiting for her to continue. “Okay, I need to know when refugee shuttles are coming in.”

            “Why not just go to the spaceport for that, darling?” If looks could kill, Talmon would have hit the floor right then. “Right, because you are currently grounded by our wonderful Senator Amidala. Alright, where is this shuttle you’re looking for coming in from?”

            “Coruscant.” Talmon busied himself with his datapad, easily finding the information Ahsoka needed.

            “Alright, not uncommon for shuttles to come out this way. When did the one you’re looking for leave?”

            “Last night.”

            “Okay, whoever you’re waiting for won’t be here for a few days at least. Hyperspace travel is fast, but not that fast. Next one from Coruscant is coming in… three days from now. Should have your friend on it.” Talmon carefully placed the datapad on the table before them, then leaned back with a sideways glance at Ahsoka. “So, who are you needing to get off that ship?”

            “An old friend from Coruscant.” Telling Talmon nothing was probably her best bet. He gave information to anyone who paid for it. Sometimes that information was from other people who had paid him. The less she told him the better off she would be.

            “A love interest?” Talmon asked, arching an eyebrow at his favorite customer.

            “He could have been.” Before Talmon could ask about her severely lacking love life, Ahsoka raised a hand. “I believe we’re done here. I would like to spend the few days before my friend gets here preparing for his arrival without interruption.”

            “Very well, but I expect payment before I depart, darling.” Ahsoka merely tossed him a couple credit chips, and he snatched them out of the air as he stood. Soon she was alone in the room, staring blankly at the wall.

            Rex would be by her side again, and she knew exactly when. That knowledge gave her hope.


	5. Chapter 4

            Nothing remotely eventful happened on the entire trip through hyperspace. No one recognized him, no one asked questions. He was just another refugee no one cared about. Not one of the other refugees paid him any mind. He was no different than them.

            Three days of travel over hundreds of parsecs. No communication with anyone. Nothing said about Order 66 or the fate of the Jedi. Nothing about the end of the war. Total radio silence. Not that a lot came through when you were traveling through hyperspace lanes. Transmissions couldn’t reach them.

            Even when Rex stared straight out the window during their descent, no one paid him any mind. They just stayed away from the viewports, most of them sickened by the sight of the planet rushing up to meet them.

            The Theed refugee spaceport was ridiculously busy and louder than Rex ever thought it would be. It seemed many of the refugees in the galaxy were at least shuttled through this spaceport on their way to somewhere else or were dropped here. Suddenly, the amount of people this war had displaced became evident to Rex. Thousands of humans, Twi’leks, Togruta, Aqualish, and all assortment of species from every reach of the galaxy wandered throughout the spaceport.

            The war he had fought in did this. The war that was his only reason for existing.

            He knew the impact was great, but had never seen it firsthand.

            It made him want to puke.

            He had to get out of there as quickly as possible. Pushing through thousands of dirty, hungry, tired people was not what Rex wanted to do, but if he was going to get out of the place that he felt was caving in on him, that was the route he had to take.

            When Rex finally stepped out into the clear air of Naboo, everything seemed to fade. He was about to see Ahsoka, he was breathing clean air for the first time in weeks, he was in one of the most beautiful places in the entirety of the galaxy. Nothing was going to stop him from loving the life he’d been given by this terrible war. He wasn’t going to feel guilty. He was going to enjoy his days with Ahsoka.

            If he could even find her.

            Asking around would draw attention, and he didn’t even know if she was using a different name. The last thing he wanted to do was oust her.

            Fortunately, as soon as he opened his eyes to the bright light and removed his hood, he spotted the young Togruta leaning against a wall underneath one of the many stairwells the city held. Every muscle in Rex’s body screamed at him to run to her, his heart ached to hold her, his head felt light as a feather and his stomach burned with the desire to feel her in his arms.

            But the look in her eyes told him to stay back, at least for the time being. A small wave of her hand signaled for him to follow her as she pushed away from the wall and melded into the wave of people leaving the spaceport.

            In a daze, Rex followed, just wanting to get to Ahsoka. They took so many turns, Rex failed to remember the way they’d come. Confusing a clone was a feat few achieved, but Ahsoka had spent so much time around him and his brothers, she knew them better than most. If anyone could confuse a clone, it was her.

            Nearly five minutes passed before Ahsoka stopped next to a three story house overlooking the river. She leaned against the wall right next to the door, waiting for him to catch up. Neither of them said anything when he came to stand in front of her. They just stared.

            Rex looked her up and down, a sad smile reaching his lips. She looked so different than when he’d last seen her leaving the Jedi Temple. Gone was her skintight dress and armbands, as well as her gauntlets. They were replaced by a crimson tunic cut in a diagonal stretching from right hip to left knee, the sleeves stopping at her elbows, gold thread at the seams and hems. It fell over black leggings and knee-high leather boots. Her hands were uncovered for the first time he had seen in nearly a year.

            She was more beautiful than even when she was in the heat of battle.

            All Ahsoka could think was that Rex looked exactly the same. Perhaps a little more ragged than he had been six months ago, a new scar forming on his nose, a shallow cut from his left cheekbone over his lips and ending on his chin. Besides the normal effects of years of battle, the clone remained the same.

            “Come on in, Rex,” Ahsoka finally said, jabbing the button to open the door with her elbow. It slid sideways, and Rex reluctantly looked away from Ahsoka long enough to get inside. The door had barely slid shut behind them before Rex pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly and never wanting to let go. Tears formed in his eyes and it was all he could do not to let them escape.

            “I missed you, little’un,” he whispered, closing his eyes and just feeling the slight warmth of her despite Togruta’s blood being significantly cooler than humans’.

            “I missed you, too, Rexter.”

            “AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!” The sudden sound made the two blast apart, staring down the hallway trying to figure out where it came from. A rather large Zabrak was approaching them, tattooed arms out wide. Rex merely stood in shock as this strange man wrapped them both in a crushing hug and saying in what he thought was a remarkably high-pitched voice for a Zabrak, “You two are so cute! Ahsoka told me the person she was waiting for wasn’t a love interest but it would appear our little girl is a liar! It’s so great to see you two together, breaking the barriers of species, it’s so perfect and beautiful and you should never change.”

            “Get. Off. Now,” Ahsoka hissed as the Zabrak paused for a breath.

            “Well, fine then, snippy ass,” he said, voice still throwing Rex for a loop. The bone-crushing pressure released and it was all Rex could do not to sigh with relief. Whoever this guy was, he was crazy.

            “Rex, meet Talmon,” Ahsoka said. She gave the clone captain an apologetic smile as Talmon scooped him up in another hug. “He’s—“

            “Her information hooker, darling!” Talmon all but shouted in Rex’s ear.

            “Think you could put me down?” Rex asked, barely able to form words with his ears ringing.

            “Oh, yes.” Talmon released Rex, placing him carefully on the floor. “Sorry, darling.”

            Ahsoka watched the two of them, Rex growing noticeably uncomfortable under Talmon’s gaze. She didn’t interfere until it became clear the two would not be speaking to each other any time soon.

            “You aren’t supposed to be here, Talmon,” she finally pointed out. He jerked his head in her direction, still smiling somewhat terrifyingly and not blinking. Once he realized what she was trying to say, his face fell.

            “Oh yes, sweetheart, I came to give you a message. And not a happy one I’m afraid…” Talmon handed over a slip of flimsi and went straight for the door. Before pressing the button, he stopped and turned back to Rex. “She’s going to need you.”

            _Whatever that means_ , Rex thought. Still, he wasn’t planning on going anywhere. He was with Ahsoka and that was all he could ask for. However, he could have done without the Zabrak hugs. Being anywhere in the vicinity of those horns gave him chills. There was something different about this one though. Talmon. And odd creature he was.

            Rex was still contemplating how a Zabrak ended up like that when Ahsoka took a sharp breath, releasing it in one quiet word. “No.”

            “What is it, Ahsoka?” he asked, turning to her again. She was against the wall, leaning there as if something had pushed her. The flimsi was falling slowly to the floor, the Aurebesh symbols on it impossible for Rex to make out. Ahsoka tried to speak, but no words would form. A few seconds passed before tears started rolling down her cheeks and an anguished cry escaped her mouth. “’Soka?”

            She just reached out a hand for him and squeezing his when he offered it. Despite his not being Force sensitive, he felt her distress in the air around her. Ahsoka was grieving, and even though Rex had no idea why, he knew she needed him there.

            “Padmè…” Ahsoka whispered. “Oh kark, Padmè.”

            “Ahsoka, what happened to Padmè?”

            She never looked up once as she stuttered, “Sh-she’s… She’s dead. She gave birth, named her children, and died.”

            “ _Fierfek_ ,” Rex cursed softly.  

            “She was supposed to come here and get me soon,” Ahsoka began to explain. “We were going to go to the lake country, to see her family. So she could be with them when she gave birth. I don’t know what to do now. Where do I go, what do I do, what am I supposed to do?”

            Rex had no idea what to say or do. When his brothers were grieving, they typically preferred to be left alone. And even when he offered them some sort of comfort it was usually a slap on the back and a “That’s war.” He’d never been expected to help with grief. It wasn’t exactly something he’d been trained in.

            So he sat next to Ahsoka, letting her cry into the folds of his cloak, unsure of what to say or do in the situation.

 


	6. Chapter 5

            “It’s good to hear from you, Rex,” Maze said, “but I’m not sure we’re going to have room for you here. We’re basically at max population.”

            “Maze, I don’t know where else we could go,” Rex replied. He risked a glance at the door, which Ahsoka had closed hours ago so she could try to sleep. It had been difficult for her to do much of anything, including sleep, despite the fact that that was all she wanted to do. In the three days following the message from Talmon, the Togruta had done nothing but lay in her bed and stare at the wall, as if she was searching the textures of it for why she’d lost nearly everything she loved so quickly. “The Empire will find us here in no time. The queen is trying to rebel, but there’s not much she can do but accept its presence. And once she does we’ll be found out within hours.”

            “I realize the dangers Rex, but you have to realize we experience these as well. Mandalore has not been affiliated with neither the Confederacy nor the Republic. I don’t know how long the duchess will stay neutral, or if the new Mandalore will take over rule. Everything is uncertain, brother.”

            “On the off chance the Mandalore takes over, will you be able to house us?” This was Rex’s last chance to find a place for them not in Theed. Padmè’s family would not take them in since the senator’s death. The Core planets spelled certain death for them. Tatooine was a possibility, but neither of them knew anyone on the planet. There was always Lux, but the possibility of losing Ahsoka to the young senator made Rex cast that out right off the bat.

            Maze let out a sigh and kicked back in his chair, feet up on a desk invisible to Rex through the holo. “Technically, yes. I think Kal’buir has been in touch with some budding rebels. We may be able to find you a place with them once they get established. But we can discuss that later, right now you just need to get here.”

            “Thank you so much, Maze. You guys were our last hope.”

            “Yeah, whatever, Rex,” Maze said with a wave of his hand. “Find yourselves a ship with hyperspace capability, and you should be able to get here in a few days. At least Naboo isn’t on the other side of the galaxy. It’s early morning here, if you leave Theed by noon you’ll arrive here late afternoon.”

            “Where are you guys even located anymore?” Rex asked.

            “Northern hemisphere. Near Enseri, it’s a small trading town you should be able to find pretty easily on a holo. It’s by the lake you’ll find to the south. I’ll see you in a few days, Rex.” Maze cut off the transmission, leaving Rex in the half light from the upstairs kitchen cast through the sitting room.

            So, they were going to Mandalore. He knew Ahsoka had been there before, but never the northern part of the planet. He’d been to Keldabe only once, and that had been to drop Ahsoka off with the Duchess. It would definitely be something new for him.

            “Rex?” Ahsoka’s drowsy voice whispered. Rex hadn’t even heard the door open. The Togruta moved slowly across the room to join him on the couch. Dark circles had formed under her eyes in the past few days, and she looked half-dead most of the time. She looked empty.

            “What are you doing up?” Rex asked with a yawn. He hadn’t even noticed how tired he was. All he was focused on was finding them a way off Naboo and making sure Ahsoka was eating.

            “Can’t sleep,” she whispered, pulling her feet up underneath her and huddling against him. “Can’t help thinking about what’s coming for us.”

            “Well, I found someone to take us in for a while.”

            “Who?”

            “A Mandalorian trainer Jango Fett found for the commandos,” Rex began to explain. “His name’s Kal Skirata, and word is he adopted nearly all the commandos under his training. They’re on Mandalore now, trying to find a cure for the advanced aging.”

            “So how and when are we getting there?”

            “You have a ship with a hyperdrive?”

            “Yeah, the one Padmè left me at the spaceport.”

            “Good, we need to get some sleep. We leave in the morning.”

* * *

 

            “You on your way yet, you _di’kut_?” Maze asked.

“Do you realize how difficult it is to pack up your entire life?” Rex asked. Ahsoka was still in the back, sitting on the only bed the ship had and trying to come to terms with having to leave again.

            “If you’re talking about having to pack up _your_ life,” Maze hissed, anger beginning to glow in his eyes, “I’m going to keep _shabla_ telling you, you don’t have a life to pack up.”

           “No, but Ahsoka does. We’ll see you in a few days.” Without warning, he cut the transmission. When any of his brothers acted like he wasn’t leaving something behind he wanted to punch a wall, no matter how badly the durasteel would hurt his hand. While trying to calm himself, he heard the door slide open behind us, followed by the sound of Ahsoka’s light footsteps on the durasteel floor.

            “Who were you talking to?”

            “Maze,” Rex replied. He busied himself with prepping the ship in an attempt to avoid further questioning.

            “And who the _shab_ is Maze?” Ahsoka inquired, sitting in the only other chair the starship’s cockpit contained.

            “An Alpha class ARC I worked with a little bit towards the beginning of the war. He’s one of Skirata’s sons and the one who’s making sure we get to them.”

            “Anything more I should know about him?” Rex immediately halted everything he was doing and leaned back with a sigh.

            “Listen, Ahsoka, I’m just trying to get us out of here. The Queen can’t hold out against the Empire forever. We can discuss this once we’re in hyperspace.”

            The Togruta’s frustration was obvious, but she knew there was nothing she could do to get Rex to change his mind. He would stay silent until they were on their way to safety. He worried because he cared. And he wouldn’t speak because he cared.

            So Ahsoka left him alone in the cockpit, still trying to keep that understanding of his actions. Clones were stubborn, and she wasn’t sure how she’d deal with nearly twenty of them in one house.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was sort of forced, to be honest. I'm gonna come back and fix some of it, but I feel like it's just a filler I needed to get out of the way before I could write any better.   
> However, one I thing I do like about this chapter is the Rex/Maze interaction. I did very much enjoy writing that.


End file.
